Rear Rotor Removal

daveray9 · Jun 22, 2016

About to change the rotors and pads (on all 4) but curious with the backs... I have changed dozens of pads and rotors before.. but never where the rear rotor also used a 'drum' for an ebrake. Will I have to replace the ebrake/drum setup? I'm at 45k with factory equipment so far... just curious how you all made out on your first brake change...

Hootbro · Jun 23, 2016

E-brake pads generally do not wear of any appreciable amount unless you have driven with the e-brake on quite a bit inadvertently.

I would just inspect them as need, brake clean the dust/crude off and call it good. Only problem and the same a regular drum brakes is if a rust ridge developed on the inside drum portion can make pulling off the rotor/drum assembly a little difficult.

Also, just be sure after replacement to check the e-brake function and adjust as needed.

big_red06 · Jun 26, 2016

sorry to intrude into someone else post but Ive never done brakes before on my truck I just bought drilled and slotted rotors which should be in this week does anyone know where i can get a write up or video on how to get the job done I'm having trouble finding one thanks in advance I'm at 43000 and don't think they have been done before

Ricks Ram · Jun 27, 2016

They are basic brakes. You need to remove the caliper brackets if you are changing the rotors. They are held on by two bolts after you remove the actual caliper. This is not nearly as hard as people make it out to be. Just take your time. The caliper bracket bolts will be tight. You may need to double up in your wrench. There are several videos on YouTube with people changing various brakes probably even on the Ram if you look at three or four of them and watch them you'll have a basic idea of how it works they are all very similar. Remember you will need to compress the caliper Pistons back in to make room for the new brake pads.

big_red06 · Jun 27, 2016

I did brakes on my last ram which was a 2006 1500 Ive found tons of videos on youtube for the 3rd gens but nothing on the fourth was curious if there was a big difference i appreciate the info Rick

Riccochet · Jun 27, 2016

45k is kind of early to be doing brakes. I'm at 75k, do a TON of towing, boat trailer has no surge brakes, and my pads are still in decent shape. I don't see why you couldn't get 100k out of the OEM pads.

Now, my rotors are a tad warped. More of an annoyance than anything.

daveray9 · Jun 27, 2016

I only have 46... my pads are still at half but the rotors are so warped I just can't deal with it anymore.

And I should have started this with, I've changed more rotors than I can remember to count, but never had rear drum/ebrakes inside the rotor... so the real question isn't how difficult is it to change the brakes... thats cake.

My question is.. how many issues have you had removing the rear rotor.. with the rust rim attaching it to the hub. I don't have a puller or a torch.. just a good old fashion sludge hammer... but if its anything like old drums I've worked on... if you hit it to hard, when it falls/comes off.. so do all the springs/hardware of the shoes.

Ricks Ram · Jun 27, 2016

I see your question.....when you remove the tire,caliper and caliper bracket the rear rotor will just slide off. Sometimes you may need to hit it with a dead blow hammer to remove it. Once it comes off the parking brake pads will not move or fall out. They are held in similar to regular drum brakes. The parking brake should not need to be replaced unless the truck was driven with the parking brake in for a substantial distance. Remember your front rotors do most of your stopping and are much more prone to warping. I have rarely seen rear rotors warp unless the was some type of other issue like a sticky caliper or some other factor to over heat it. You may need to adjust the rear parking pads to accommodate the new rotor. Most of the ones I have done have a small adjuster wheel that is easily accessible with the rotor off. I would recommend doing the front first if your back rotors do not appear to be damaged or grooved and see if it corrects your problem. Let us know how it goes.

daveray9 · Jun 27, 2016

Thx bud!!!

Riccochet · Jun 28, 2016

There should be an adjuster wheel for the drums you can access through a slot in the dust cover. If the rotor/drum will not slide off easily you can adjust that wheel to loosen the drum brake. Replace the pads, put drum back on, put wheel back on then adjust the drum until there is barely any tension between pads and drum, then back it off a 1/4 turn. Unlike traditional rear drums where they actually do the stopping, these are just e-brakes and don't require any kept tension on the drum.

daveray9 · Jun 30, 2016

Home vehicle repair is always consistent... you always are missing just 1 tool.

Gave it a go, got the caliper off... one of the pads (rear one) was rusted to the mounting bracket and couldn't get it to budge even with a hammer.. so figured I would just get it off after I pop the bracket off the hub... but.. my socket set is missing whatever size that bolt is. Sick huh. Best part.. I double checked the lug nut size and went and bought the 22mm hex so I could torque the lugs properly... just assumed I had the size for the bracket... (which isn't 22 btw) Cheers... plus my wife is out so I had to put it all back together to go to the store and buy the hex.
Anyone know the actual size?? I'm guessing 20 as 18 was to small and 22 was to big.

Rustycowl69 · Jun 30, 2016

are you positive the rotors are warped? Sometimes the hub/wheel bearing can have runout. If you can borrow a dial indicator you can figure which one has the runout problem.
As far as the comment about letting the brakes go till 75 or 100k, I ask why would you do that? Pads are way cheaper and easier than replacing calipers AND pads. The further the Pistons come out of their bores, the more likely they are to **** in the bores, causing more problems.

big_red06 · Jul 1, 2016

daveray9 said:
Home vehicle repair is always consistent... you always are missing just 1 tool.

Gave it a go, got the caliper off... one of the pads (rear one) was rusted to the mounting bracket and couldn't get it to budge even with a hammer.. so figured I would just get it off after I pop the bracket off the hub... but.. my socket set is missing whatever size that bolt is. Sick huh. Best part.. I double checked the lug nut size and went and bought the 22mm hex so I could torque the lugs properly... just assumed I had the size for the bracket... (which isn't 22 btw) Cheers... plus my wife is out so I had to put it all back together to go to the store and buy the hex.
Anyone know the actual size?? I'm guessing 20 as 18 was to small and 22 was to big.

Just replaced mine with drilled and slotted rotors yesterday if i remember correctly the rear caliper bracket bolt on my 2014 1500 was a 21 mm socket not sure if there is a difference between the years . I just hit 44k and figured I would upgrade them The job was fairly straight forward and the Chilton's repair manual I bought helped me out a lot as did the advice I received in this thread so far they seem to be working well :happy107:

thanks all

Taylo1 · Jul 1, 2016

21 mm is correct.

Riccochet · Jul 1, 2016

Rustycowl69 said:
are you positive the rotors are warped? Sometimes the hub/wheel bearing can have runout. If you can borrow a dial indicator you can figure which one has the runout problem.
As far as the comment about letting the brakes go till 75 or 100k, I ask why would you do that? Pads are way cheaper and easier than replacing calipers AND pads. The further the Pistons come out of their bores, the more likely they are to **** in the bores, causing more problems.

You aren't going to damage a caliper if the pad hasn't even worn down to the wear indicator. Now, letting go to the extreme, it's possible. When I was a tech I saw more caliper failure due to heat and lack of lubrication on the float pin than over-extension.

smiley · Jul 1, 2016

Riccochet said:
You aren't going to damage a caliper if the pad hasn't even worn down to the wear indicator. Now, letting go to the extreme, it's possible. When I was a tech I saw more caliper failure due to heat and lack of lubrication on the float pin than over-extension.

Didn't do mine until around 95K I think it was. The growled I replaced them that day. Easy work.

BlueRT · Jul 2, 2016

I would do it when the auto part stores are open. You just never know when something hits you from left field lol! When I did the rears on my old truck the brake lining just fell off of one of the e-brake shoes backing plate and I had the e-brakes backed off as far as the adjustment allowed.

Bourne2Shoot · Jul 5, 2016

Try watching this, this should help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=842MUwtHc6E

daveray9 · Jul 5, 2016

Bourne2Shoot said:
Try watching this, this should help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=842MUwtHc6E

Thanks guys.. got the fronts off today no problem. 90% of the vibration is gone.

Gunna tackle the back tomorrow... at this point I doubt the rear rotors are warped.. its probably the fact that the tires are only at about 20%.

Here is a photo of the back of the driver side rotor... the truck was originally from NY.. it only has 40k miles.. that chemical they use on the roads in the winter DESTROYS your vehicles.. its increases the rate of rust by about 40%.

Check these out:

dunney · Jul 6, 2016

Riccochet said:
There should be an adjuster wheel for the drums you can access through a slot in the dust cover. If the rotor/drum will not slide off easily you can adjust that wheel to loosen the drum brake. Replace the pads, put drum back on, put wheel back on then adjust the drum until there is barely any tension between pads and drum, then back it off a 1/4 turn. Unlike traditional rear drums where they actually do the stopping, these are just e-brakes and don't require any kept tension on the drum.

Agree 100%. Just did my brakes. I bought the truck at 50000 miles and I'm at 105k now, so not sure if they were ever done, but rotors, pads and no bleeding. Backs came off with a little hammer encouragement, so I didnt' bother adjusting the ebrake shoes.

Rear Rotor Removal

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